Program Notes
to correspond with sparrows originates from a reading of Richard Wright’s Haiku – a collection of over
800 haiku composed during the last two years of Wright’s life. Ranging from the sublime and pastoral to
bawdy and visceral, the haiku span as many elements of the American South as any author could or
might in entire novels. Rich with imagery, double entendre, and overtones of race and place, Wright
evokes all senses and surrounds us with the colors, sounds, and atmosphere of his mind.
Among the haiku are some consistent threads – the aurality and quickness of sparrows; isolation,
silence, and the evocation of joy from simple human communication; days slipping into nights. I sought
out the most “audible” haiku, or those with such a strong visual content that audition was sparked, and,
in the tradition of haiku, sought economy as best I could, keeping every movement as short as I could
while evoking the same colors, textures, and scents as the haiku. I take some liberties with the songs of
sparrows – and some literality with telegraph messages – and attempted to illustrate each haiku. Due to
copyright permissions, I cannot reprint them here; however, they are found in Wright’s Haiku: This
Other World, and I give the precise haiku number above in brackets.
Above all, I found in these short, vibrant poems an unending thread of love, and an unending sense of
optimism. I hope, in some way, these are communicated through my interpretation of these poems as
well.
This work was commissioned by the Greenbrook Ensemble of Nashville, TN.

Performance Notes
Most performance notes appear in-score. Often, the marking “pizz” is seen in the flute part. A tongue pizzicato is
intended here. (There are indeed specific places in the piece that call for a lip pizz.) Jet whistles for the flute
should follow the arrow (above staff) or dynamic markings for lip shape and head joint angle. The saxophone is
asked to play ghost tones throughout the piece; if not possible, play at pppp dynamic. The ending of the first
movement is a (secret) Morse code message that should, as much as practical, be performed as Morse-code-ily
as possible. The second movement should not be played with any vibrato. The third movement features a
saxophone multiphonic; the fingering is given and can be found in Daniel Kientzy’s Les Sons Multiples Aux
Saxophones under the Alto Sax section, multiphonic #3. The fifth and sixth movements are notated using clock
time; these durations should be strictly observed. Estimated durations of movements are given at ends of
movements. The total estimated duration is between 8’30” and 9’00” depending on tempos.

* The saxophonist must turn away from the audience.
** Placement of multiphonic attacks is relative; there must be eight attacks in the movement spaced relatively
equally, though there can be sax silence for as long as needed once all attacks are completed.
*** Cf. Kientzy Alto Multiphonic Nr 3: 1 2 3 Bb || 4 5 6 Eb